By Stephen Flanagan
The most uttered
words from any official in Washington today is "I'm not
responsible". We need to change this country's motto from
"E Pluribus Unum" to "Non
Meus Mendum".
When I was a kid and
I did something wrong, mom would yell, "There, you see what you
did!" I got the message that "I messed up and was the one
to blame". I was held "accountable".
Not in Washington!
In
the last two months all we've heard
from politicians and other
so-called
"leaders" is
"I'm not responsible for the
financial
crisis".
Among these people are: Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Barak Obama, George Bush, Ben Bernanke, Henry Waxman, Franklin Raines, Leland Brendsel AND every Member of the House and Senate Banking Committees in the last decade!
So where do we stand
as the country tries to survive this artificial recession? You guessed
it, the same old partisan blame game:
Republicans
blame Fannie and Freddie, and the effort to promote homeownership under
the Clinton administration for sowing the seeds of the financial
meltdown.
Democrats
defend the companies' role in encouraging homeownership and note that
Wall Street banks - not Fannie and Freddie - led a dramatic decline
in lending standards.
Do
facts actually matter?
If so here are few facts:
1) Fact: The
Bush administration, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan, has been sounding the alarm about the potential threat to
the nation's financial health if the fortunes of the two mammoth
companies turned sour.
2) Fact:
Hearings were held as early as 2004, in which "regulators"
warned that Fannie and Freddie were in danger of "collapse".
The hearings also made it clear that "someone" was cooking the
books.
3) Fact:
Freddie Mac embarked on one of the most wide-spread lobbying efforts in Capital Hill history. Records show that $11.7 million was
paid to 52 outside lobbyists and consultants in 2006 alone
(approximately $225.000 EACH). And they all took the money!
But Only ONE FACT MATTERS:
The financial crisis happened under the so-called watchful eye of two "key" Congressional committees, the House and Senate Banking Committees. It does not matter "what" happened, these committees FAILED in their most important role -- the role of OVERSIGHT!
These committees
cannot blame George Bush. They cannot blame Wall Street. These
committees had all the facts. They had all the power to require any
documentation, testimony, investigation or other information they deemed
necessary.
Despite
all this OVERSIGHT power,
they did nothing.
1) It doesn’t
matter if the Congressional Black Caucus did nothing because they
wanted more minorities to "own" homes.
2) It doesn't
matter if the liberals thought they could re-distribute money by
giving loans to people that could not pay.
3) It doesn't matter if greedy mortgage brokers talked people into taking these loans.
4) It doesn't
matter if lobbyists looked the other way to collect some extra cash.
The
only thing that matters is
CONGRESS FAILED AND
FAILED
MISERABLY!
These people are responsible the most monumental financial failure in a generation.
How can ANY American
consider sending ANY of them back for another term?
THROW THE BUMS OUT!
They have failed!
As an American it is YOUR patriotic duty to kick these people out of office.
Remember:
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.
THE U.S. CONGRESS FAILED!
PEOPLE'S RETIREMENT FUNDS ARE GONE. PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR HOMES. BUSINESSES ARE
CLOSING.
WHOLE INDUSTRIES ARE THREATENED.
CONGRESSIONAL INTERFERENCE IN THE U.S. ECONOMY HAS BACKFIRED AND CAUSED THIS CRISIS!
THROW THE BUMS OUT!